Conversation with matter

Surrounding her studio there is a profusion of trees : linden trees, red beeches, sequoias, oaks,… She studies their bark, observes their seasonal cycle, the falling autumn leaves, the bare winter branches, the burst of life and colour in spring. She stays attuned to the chromatic changes in the vegetation, to light playing on newly blossoming flowers, to the bursting creative energy of this season. Her wall sculptures echo this exuberant plant world.

Her sculptures also evoke the volcanic landscapes she discovered in Iceland and Lanzarote. She was struck by the lava flows, these simple shapes which testify to the power of ancient volcanic eruptions, this arrested movement, the Earth’s core exposed to the elements and to erosion, this dark, textured black.

Mane Phély’s sculptural work is an aesthetic exploration in dialogue with nature, a sensory adventure in the plant and mineral world, a creative journey with a material the exceptional qualities of which she is still discovering.